Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Transient modeling of high-inertial thermal bridges in buildings using

the equivalent thermal wall method
F. Aguilar a, J.P. Solano b, P.G. Vicente a, *
a
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Energía, Avenida de la Universidad, 03202 Elche, Spain
b
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Ingeniería Térmica y de Fluidos, Campus Muralla del Mar, 30202 Cartagena, Spain

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

Two highly-inertial thermal bridges

are analyzed using the equivalent higher+lower wall
thermal wall method. 35

We present a method for obtaining
the thermal properties of the equiv- 30
original wall
alent walls.

Q (W/m )
2

A strategy for the decomposition of equivalent wall
25
the thermal bridges into several walls lower wall

is devised.
20

The transient performance of the
equivalent thermal walls is compared higher wall
15
with classical models.

A reliable analysis of the transient
thermal performance through ther- 0 4 8 12 16 20 24
mal bridges is demonstrated. time (h)

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The method of the equivalent thermal wall has been employed for modeling the transient response of
Received 23 August 2013 high-inertial thermal bridges. A new strategy is presented in order to adjust the thermal properties of the
Accepted 23 March 2014 equivalent three-layered wall, which takes into account the temperature distribution across the thermal
Available online 3 April 2014
bridge in a steady-state heat conduction scenario. Two different thermal bridge topologies created by the
junction of a vertical wall and an intermediate or a ground floor slab are analyzed with this method, and
Keywords:
its feasibility for the implementation in building energy simulation tools is discussed: if the thermal
Thermal bridge
bridge is not considered, an underestimation of 25% in the heat flux across the bridge is predicted. If the
Equivalent thermal wall
High thermal inertia
thermal bridge is modeled but its thermal inertia is neglected, a time-delayed heat flux response is
Numerical heat conduction retrieved. Conversely, the simulation based on the equivalent wall method provides a response nearly
identical to the actual dynamic performance of the thermal bridge.

2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introductions performance of buildings [1], provides the principles to safe-

The basic requirement to limit the energy consumption, as
prescribed in the European Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ34 966 658 561.
E-mail address: pedro.vicente@umh.es (P.G. Vicente).
guarding comfortable indoor climatic conditions while controlling
the energy demand. An appropriate thermal insulation is among
the main measures to reduce the energy consumption in buildings.
Regarding this issue, Al-Sanea and Zedan [2] analyzed the impor-
tance of the thermal insulation and its correct location in building
envelopes. However, even a well insulated construction may be
subjected to substantial energy losses, owing to the complex

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.03.058
1359-4311/
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377
Nomenclature
A surface of the thermal bridge (m2)
C heat capacity (m2 K W1)
Cp specific heat (J kg1 K1)
dV differential volume (m3)
E energy stored in the thermal bridge (J)
e layer thickness (m)
H distance from the adiabatic plane to each side of the
thermal bridge junction (m)
k thermal conductivity (W m1 K1)
LTB length of influence of the thermal bridge (m)
LW length of the wall unaffected by the thermal bridge (m)
Q heat (W)
q heat flux (W m2)
R thermal resistance (m2 K W1)
S boundary of the thermal bridge (m)
t time (s)
Tn temperature of the differential element ( C)
Ti inner temperature of an enclosure ( C)
To outside temperature of an enclosure ( C)
DT temperature difference across the thermal bridge, Ti
 To ( C)
configurations, joints and assemblies known as thermal bridges,
where the continuity of the insulation is broken. Owing to the
lower overall thermal resistance and the associated energy losses,
the appropriate analysis of thermal bridges is of primary impor-
tance to evaluate accurately the energy demand in buildings. This
need not only extends to new constructions but also to old build-
ings. For example, the double wall construction, usually employed
in the past in the south of Europe, is rather susceptible to the
occurrence of thermal bridges. The analysis of the thermal bridges
impact will in that sense also highlight the potential for energy
renovation measures like retrofitting of insulation in older
buildings.
The international standard ISO 10211 [3,4] compiles the guide-
lines for the calculation of thermal bridges in building construction.
Additionally, there exist national standards in most of the countries
of the EU, which expand on the methodology and requirements for
their calculation.
A basic approach for the energy assessment of buildings in-
volves the omission of the thermal bridges and their effects. The
outcome of this method only takes into account the heat transfer
across the building envelope. A second option consists of
modeling the thermal bridges as a linear heat transfer resistance,
which is only a function of the thermal bridge length and the
temperature difference between the indoor and outside condi-
tions. This method requires the definition of the linear parameter
J (W/mK), and does not take into account the thermal inertia of
the thermal bridge. In spite of the available software for the
calculation of J (e.g., KOBRA, THERM), most of the national
building standards provide with tabulated values for different
configurations. A most accurate method consists of modeling the
thermal bridges as a solid mass with thermal inertia. Albeit more
complex, this is a more realistic option for the analysis of thermal
loads and energy demand in buildings. Following the latter
approach, the Intelligent Energy Europe project ASIEPI [5] sup-
ports the use of simulation codes rather than the application of
default values obtained from simplified methods. However, the
inherent complexity of the transient simulation of thermal
371
U thermal transmittance (W m2 K1)
X heat fraction through the thermal bridge ()
x horizontal coordinate (m)
y vertical coordinate (m)
Greek symbols
a thermal diffusivity (m2 s1)
4 dimensionless factor of the equivalent thermal wall ()
J linear heat transfer coefficient (W m1 K1)
r density (kg m3)
Subscripts
ext external layer
f façade
h higher wall
i inside
int internal layer
l lower wall
m m-th layer
o outside
s slab
TB thermal bridge
bridges frequently results in the analysis of steady-state problems
or the use of tabulated quantities. An alternative to the full en-
velope simulation is the analysis of the transient heat conduction
across simplified models, which would dramatically reduce the
complexity of the simulation and the computational cost of the
problem. Gao et al. [6] progressed on the transient analysis of
simplified models from three-dimensional thermal bridges.
Likewise, Karambakkam et al. [7] proposed the method of the
homogeneous layered wall to obtain simpler models from com-
plex wall configurations. The equivalent thermal wall method,
widely developed by Kossecka and Kosny [8,9], consists of a
simplification method to obtain multi-layered walls from thermal
bridges with complex geometry. The equivalent wall presents the
same thermal performance of the original thermal bridge, both in
steady-state and dynamic conditions. Instead of performing the
laborious simulation of the full thermal bridge, the method of the
equivalent thermal wall allows to analyze the problem of heat
conduction across a three-layered wall, with known analytical
solution [10].
In the present work, a novel technique to simplify highly inertial
thermal bridges is developed, based on the equivalent thermal wall
method. This technique relies on the calculation of the thermal
properties of the three-layered equivalent wall by means of an
iterative algorithm proposed by the authors. Two different thermal
bridge topologies created by the junction of a vertical wall and an
intermediate or a ground floor slab are subsequently studied, in
light of the easy tailoring of these geometries to a wide range of 2D
configurations that yield highly-inertial thermal bridging in
buildings. A methodology for the decomposition of these geome-
tries into their equivalent thermal walls is duly described. The
method allows to solve efficiently the dynamic response of thermal
bridges with high thermal inertia, considering their influence in the
calculation of both the thermal load and the energy demand of the
building. This method can be implemented in building energy
simulation programs like Energy Plus [11,12] or DOE-2 [13], being
the equivalent walls composed of three-layered enclosures which
allow for a fast and accurate calculation.
372 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377

2. Calculation method

In order to obtain the simplified model of a thermal bridge,

three different steps are required: a) the solution of the steady-
state heat conduction problem across the element, in order to
retrieve the temperature distribution and wall heat fluxes; b) the
calculation of the dimensionless factors that drive the definition of
the equivalent thermal wall, following the method of Kossecka and
Kosny [8,9]; c) the assessment of the thermal properties of the
three-layered equivalent thermal wall.

2.1. Numerical heat conduction problem

The two-dimensional steady state heat conduction problem in

the cross section of a thermal bridge is governed by the Laplace
equation Eq. (1). The boundary conditions depicted in Eq. (2) ac-
count for the thermal resistances of the surfaces against heat
convection and radiation with the surrounding mediums. The
temperatures of the outside and indoor regions are prescribed
respectively as To ¼ 1  C and Ti ¼ 0  C (the study would draw similar
conclusions if other values were considered). At the interfaces (iej)
of the different layers of the enclosure, the boundary conditions
implemented are presented in Eq. (3), assuming that two bodies in Fig. 1. Flow diagram for the calculation of the thermal properties of the equivalent
thermal wall.
contact must have the same temperature at the area of contact (3a)
and the heat flux on the two sides of an interface must be the same
(3b). integrated numerically across the three-dimensional enclosure,
being Tn the temperature in each node of the discretized domain:
v2 T v2 T
þ ¼ 0; T˛U (1)
vx2 vy2 Z 9
rCp ð1  Tn Þ2 dV >
1 >
4ii ¼ >
>
9 C >
>
vT 1
> Z >
>
kext ¼ Text  Tw;e >
> 1 =
vn Rext = 4ee ¼ rCp Tn2 dV (4)
(2) C >
>
vT 1
 >> Z >
>
kint ¼ T  Tw;i > ; >
>
1 >
vn Rint int 4ie ¼ rCp ð1  Tn ÞdV >
;
C
9
Ti ¼ Tj >
= These values must satisfy the condition:

vT vT (3)
k1 ¼ k2 > ; 24ie þ 4ii þ 4ee ¼ 1 (5)
vn vn
Two different numerical techniques have been employed The thermal performance of the equivalent wall can be
simultaneously for the solution of the steady-state heat con- described by the dimensionless factors 4ii, 4ee, 4ie, the thermal
duction problem across the thermal bridges: the finite volume transmittancy U and the heat capacity C. These quantities allow to
method [14,15], by means of an in-house code developed in derive, for each layer of the equivalent wall, the values Cm, Rm, rm
Matlab [16]; and the finite element method, using the commer- and km, where m ¼ 1, 2, 3. It is important to note that nor the width
cial software Ansys [17]. The similarity of both solutions serves as
assessment of the validity of the results obtained. The guidelines
of the international standards ISO 10211-1 [3] and ISO10211-2 [4]
Inside
for the modeling and calculation of thermal bridges have been Habitable
duly considered. The validation of the calculation method has Ti = 0 ºC
been accomplished according to the criteria presented in the
Annex A of ISO 10211-1 [3] for 2D geometries. Differences lower
than 0.1 K between the numerical and the listed solutions are Outside
obtained, which certifies the high accuracy of the computational To = 1 ºC
method employed.

2.2. Equivalent thermal wall

Inside
The resulting wall heat flux and temperature field in the domain non-Habitable
R
allow to compute the heat capacity as C ¼ U rCp dV and the ther- Ti = 0 ºC
mal transmittancy U ¼ QTB/(A$DT), where QTB is the total heat that
penetrates the thermal bridge, A is the inner surface and DT ¼ 1 K. Fig. 2. Analysis of the layers of a thermal bridge created by the junction of an external
According to Kossecka and Kosny [8,9], the dimensionless factors façade and a lower floor slab, with non-habitable lower indoor space. Dimensions in
4ii, 4ee, 4ie are obtained from the next expressions, which are mm.
 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377 373

Table 1
List of building materials and their thermal properties for cases 3.1 and 3.2 (see
Figs. 2 and 7).

Label Material r (kg/m3) cp (J/kg K) k (W/m K)

M1 1/2 ft solid brick 900 1000 0.512

M2 Mineral wool 40 1000 0.041
M3 Double hollow brick 630 1000 0.212
M4 Reinforced concrete slab 1090 1000 1.22
M5 Extruded polystyrene insulation 25 1000 0.04
M6 Reinforced mortar layer 1350 800 0.7
M7 Ceramic tiles 2000 1000 1
M8 White plaster 1150 1000 0.57
M9 Acoustic insulation 40 1000 0.032

of the layers neither their specific heat play a role in the steady state
heat transfer calculation. Because of this, the default values
e ¼ 0.1 m and Cp ¼ 1000 J/kg K are considered hereafter for the
three layers.

2.3. Adjustment of the thermal properties

An iterative algorithm has been developed in order to calculate

the thermal variables Cm, Rm, rm and km of the three layers that Fig. 4. Heat flow vectors across the thermal bridge.
compose the equivalent thermal wall. The method consist of the
search of the thermal resistance of the external layer R1 for which
the heat capacity of the intermediate level C2 is close to zero but true for thermal bridges originated by the junction of different
positive. The equations that govern the method are given by Kos- enclosure elements. In this case, the high thermal inertia of the
secka and Kosny [8]: resulting bridge must be accounted for considering each individual
enclosure. The need for an adjustment of the different thermal
  inertias of a bridge elements and the inertias of the equivalent wall
1 X 3
Rm
4ii þ 4ie ¼ Cm þ Rmo (6) was already claimed for by Kossecka and Kosny [8] in their intro-
RC m ¼ 1 2
duction of the method of the equivalent thermal wall. In the pre-
sent work, the methodology for the association of the thermal
!
1 X 3
R2m Rm R inertias of different enclosures is developed. This approach is pre-
4ie ¼ 2
Cm þ þ Rim Rmo (7) sented in Section 3 using as test cases the thermal bridges origi-
R C m¼1 3 2
nated by two classical constructive solutions: the junction of a
vertical wall and an intermediate or a ground floor slab.
X
3
R ¼ Rm (8)
m¼1 3. Practical cases

X
3
3.1. Vertical wall and ground floor slab
C ¼ Cm (9)
m¼1
Constructive details of the thermal bridge originated by the
The iterative process for the calculation of the variables of in- junction of a vertical wall and a ground floor slab are presented in
terest is described in the flow diagram depicted in Fig. 1. This Fig. 2. The outside surface of the vertical wall is in contact with the
method can be applied directly for integrated thermal bridges, e.g., ambient, the upper indoor space is defined as habitable and the
joists, cavity walls, roller shutter boxes, etc. Conversely, this is not lower indoor space is a non-habitable highly ventilated room. The

Fig. 3. Application of the method of the equivalent thermal wall on a thermal bridge created by a vertical façade and a lower floor slab.
374 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377

adiabatic
plane

Fig. 5. Method for the adjustment of thermal inertias of the equivalent thermal wall for the junction of a façade and a lower floor slab.

adiabatic surface is defined at a distance of 1 m from the inter-
section of both enclosures, where the lateral heat conduction ef-
fects are negligible. The material of each component of this thermal
bridge and their thermal properties are included in Table 1.
3.1.1. Adjustment of the method
As explained in Section 2, it is necessary to re-assign the thermal
inertias of the thermal bridge elements. The method proposed
consists of identifying the adiabatic plane, which divides the
intersecting mass of the thermal bridge proportionally to its in-
fluence over the two spaces surrounding the enclosure. The loca-
tion of the adiabatic plane is derived through the conservation law:
Z Z
qext;x dy ¼ qint;x dy
So Si
where So and Si are the outside and indoor surface boundaries of
the thermal bridge, as depicted in Fig. 3. qext,x is the wall heat flux
that enters the bridge from the external layer of the vertical wall.
qint,x is the wall heat flux that penetrates through the internal layer
of the vertical wall. Both heat flux distributions are obtained from
the numerical solution of the 2D steady-state heat conduction
problem in the thermal bridge (see Fig. 4). The definition of the
adiabatic plane allows the following description of the dimensional
magnitudes of the thermal bridge, referenced to indoor levels (see
Fig. 5):

LTB,f: length of influence of the façade thermal bridge. It extends
over the region where the steady-state heat flux streamlines are
affected by two-dimensional effects.

LW,f: length of the façade wall, Lf  LTB,f

LTB,s: length of the slab thermal bridge. It extends over the region
where the steady-state heat flux streamlines are affected by
two-dimensional effects.

LW,s: length of the slab wall, Ls  LTB,s

Hs: Vertical distance from the base of the thermal bridge to the
adiabatic plane. This dimension assesses the portion of solid in
Table 2
Characteristic lengths of the thermal bridge created by lower-floor slab and façade.
the corner of the geometry that contributes to increase the heat
transfer across the slab.

Hf: Vertical distance from the adiabatic plane to the façade wall.
This dimension assesses the portion of solid in the corner of the
geometry that contributes to increase the heat transfer across
the façade.
The assessment of these dimensions using the steady-state
temperature distribution of the thermal bridge is summarized in
Table 2.
3.1.2. Results
Once the thermal bridge has been delimited by the adiabatic
(10) plane and the borders of the two-dimensional effects region, the
topology of the enclosure is separated into four regions as shown
in Fig. 5. Regions A and B are respectively the vertical and hori-
zontal sectors of the thermal bridge that can be modeled as 1D
multi-layered substrates. Likewise, regions C and D are the
equivalent thermal walls deducted from the vertical wall and the
slab floor. The suitability of the algorithm sketched in the flow
diagram of Fig. 1 for the computation of the equivalent wall
thermal properties is analyzed next, focusing on its appropri-
ateness for dealing with high thermal-inertial enclosures.
Tables 3 and 4 summarize the properties of the equivalent ther-
mal wall C (vertical wall). The quantities obtained for the
equivalent thermal wall D (slab floor) are reported in Tables 5 and
6.
In order to validate the simulation method, the dynamic
response of the thermal bridge (Fig. 3) and its equivalent thermal
wall model (Fig. 5) is analyzed. The transient heat conduction
problem is modelled with the two-dimensional Fourier equation:
v2 T v2 T 1 vT
þ ¼ (11)
vx2 vy2 a vt
The same boundary conditions defined in Eqs. (2) and (3) apply
here. In this situation, the outside temperature fluctuates with the
law Text(t) ¼ Fsin(ut), where the amplitude is F ¼ 5  C is and the
period is 24 h. The indoor temperature is maintained constant
during the simulation, Tint ¼ 20  C. In order to get results

LW (m) LTB (m) H (m) A (m2) Table 4

Façade 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.4 Thermal coefficients of the different layers in the equivalent thermal wall of the
Floor 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.4 façade.

Layer m Rm Cm em (m) km rm Cp,m

(m2 K/W) (kJ/m2 K) (W/m K) (kg/m3) (kJ/kg K)
Table 3 Si 0.13 e e e e e
Thermal transmittancy and dimensionless coefficients for the equivalent thermal 1 0.236 217.169 0.1 0.424 2171.69 1
wall of the façade. 2 0.833 0.343 0.1 0.120 3.43 1
3 0.236 52.788 0.1 0.424 527.88 1
U (W/m2 K) 4ii 4ie 4ee
Se 0.04 e e e e e
P
0.678 0.147 0.102 0.649 mi 1.475 270.3 0.3 e e e
 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377 375

Table 5
Inside M7
Thermal transmittancy and dimensionless coefficients for the equivalent thermal
wall of the lower-floor slab. Habitable
M6
U (W/m2 K) 4ii 4ie 4ee

0.719 0.108 0.089 0.713

M9

Table 6
Thermal coefficients of the different layers in the equivalent thermal wall of the
lower-floor slab. Outside M4
Layer m Rm Cm em (m) km rm Cp,m
(m2 K/W) (kJ/m2 K) (W/m K) (kg/m3) (kJ/kg K)
M8
Si 0.17 e e e e e
1 0.058 451.097 0.1 1.724 4510.96 1
2 1.004 0.303 0.1 0.099 3.03 1 Inside
3 0.058 71.70 0.1 1.724 717.01 1 Habitable
Se 0.10 e e e e e
P
mi 1.39 523.10 0.3 e e e

independent of the initial condition, the simulation is extended

over a period of 4 days, being the solution of the last day used for
the data analysis.
The time-dependent heat fluxes across the actual thermal
bridge are obtained from the solution of Eq. (11) using the finite-
volume method. Conversely, the efficient Laplace transform
method [10] is used for the solution of the multilayered walls A and
B and the equivalent thermal walls C and D as defined in Fig. 5. The
comparison of both solutions is presented in Fig. 6: the indepen-
dent analysis of the façade and the floor slab show a phase delay of
about 2 h between both computation approaches. However, the
analysis of both solutions for the thermal bridge ensemble presents
a good agreement.
3.2. Joint between an intermediate-floor slab and a vertical wall
Fig. 7 depicts the geometry and thermal properties of the
thermal bridge originated by the joint of a vertical wall with an
intermediate-floor slab. The indoor spaces separated by the slab are
habitable, and the outside surface of the vertical wall is in contact
Fig. 7. Analysis of the layers of a thermal bridge created by the junction of an external
façade and an intermediate floor slab, with both inner spaces habitable. Dimensions in
mm.
with the ambient. A method to obtain the equivalent thermal wall
of this thermal bridge topology is devised.
3.2.1. Adjustment of the method
In this thermal bridge, the intermediate-floor slab acts as a high-
mass fin with high thermal inertia. This slab separates two indoor
spaces with the same boundary conditions. In this case, the
calculation method is based on the analysis of the energy stored in
the thermal bridge and the heat flow towards the lower and higher
indoor spaces. The steady-state heat conduction analysis provides
the temperature field and the heat fluxes across the lower and
higher slab surfaces. The total heat that penetrates across each
surface is computed respectively as:
Z
Qh ¼ qh;y dx (12)
Sh

Z
Q[ ¼ q[;y dx (13)
S[

where Sh and S[ are the higher and lower surfaces of the slab, qh,y is
the wall heat flux across the higher surface of the slab and q[,y is the
wall heat flux across the lower surface of the slab.
The fraction of the heat crossing each surface with respect to the
total amount of energy that enters the slab is interpreted as the
influence of the thermal bridge over the higher and lower inner
spaces. Eqs. (14) and (15) are employed to assess this influence:

Qh
Xh ¼ (14)
Qh þ Q[

Q[
X[ ¼ (15)
Qh þ Q[

whereas the total energy stored in the thermal bridge is obtained as

R
Etot ¼ S rCp TdV.
The location of the adiabatic plane over the slab, y1, is computed
Fig. 6. Heat flux across the inner surface for the thermal bridge of the test case 3.1. using the definition of Xh and X[:
376 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377

Table 9
L W,h Thermal coefficients of the different layers in the equivalent thermal wall of the
higher façade.

LTB,h Layer m Rm Cm em (m) km rm Cp,m

(m2 K/W) (kJ/m2 K) (W/m K) (kg/m3) (kJ/kg K)

Si 0.13 e e e e e
Hh 1 0.208 172.157 0.1 0.481 1721.57 1
adiabatic
2 0.959 0.019 0.1 0.104 0.19 1
Hl plane 3 0.208 95.624 0.1 0.481 956.24 1
Se 0.04 e e e e e
P
LTB,l mi 1.545 267.8 0.3 e e e

L W,l
Table 10
Thermal transmittancy and dimensionless coefficients for the equivalent thermal
wall of the lower façade.
Fig. 8. Method for the adjustment of thermal inertias of the equivalent thermal wall
for the junction of a façade and an intermediate floor slab. U (W/m2 K) 4ii 4ie 4ee

1.066 0.493 0.136 0.235

Zy1
E[ ¼ X[ rCp TdV (16) Table 11
Thermal coefficients of the different layers in the equivalent thermal wall of the
y0
lower façade.

Layer m Rm Cm em km rm Cp,m
Zy2 (m2 K/W) (kJ/m2 K) (m) (W/m K) (kg/m3) (kJ/kg K)
Eh ¼ Xh rCp TdV (17)
Si 0.13 e e e e e
y1 1 0.097 334.46 0.1 1.031 3344.64 1
2 0.574 1.27 0.1 0.174 12.70 1
The coordinate y1 that defines this plane is depicted in Fig. 8. 3 0.097 112.57 0.1 1.031 1125.66 1
Eqs. (16) and (17) allow to obtain the values Hh ¼ y2  y1 and Se
P
0.04 e e e e e
H[ ¼ y1  y0, which assess the influence of the thermal bridge over mi 0.938 448.3 0.3 e e e

the higher and lower indoor spaces. Numerical quantities are

reported in Table 7.
Unlike the previous case, the computation lengths defined in 4. Definition of the thermal bridge
this thermal bridge are referenced to the outside levels. Therefore,
the area of the thermal bridge is computed, both for the high and The analysis of thermal bridges and their handling in the
lower spaces. Tables 8 and 9 summarize the properties of the calculation of thermal loads in HVAC studies are still unresolved
equivalent thermal wall C (higher façade). The quantities obtained issues in building energy simulation tools. Most of the standards
for the equivalent thermal wall D (lower façade) are reported in currently existing (including ISO 10211-1:1995 [3] and ISO 10211-
Tables 10 and 11. 2:2001 [4]) consider the thermal bridges as constructive elements
without thermal inertia, and therefore only the steady-state heat
transfer analysis is a matter of study. The physical parameter that
drives these modeling strategies is the linear thermal
3.2.2. Results
The solution of the heat conduction equation Eq. (11) over the
actual geometry of the thermal bridge has been obtained numeri-
cally and employed to compute the energy demand per unit of area
in the higher and lower spaces, as well as the influence of the
thermal bridge over the whole indoor space. Likewise, the analyt-
ical solution for the multi-layered equivalent thermal wall has been
employed to accomplish the same post-processing routine. Com-
parison of both approaches are presented in Fig. 9, showing that
both models present a very similar thermal dynamic response.

Table 7
Characteristic lengths of the thermal bridge created by intermediate-floor slab and
façade.

LW (m) LTB (m) H (m) A (m2)

Higher space 0.6 0.4 0.185 0.585

Lower space 0.6 0.4 0.185 0.585

Table 8
Thermal transmittancy and dimensionless coefficients for the equivalent thermal
wall of the higher façade.

U (W/m2 K) 4ii 4ie 4ee

0.647 0.468 0.136 0.111

Fig. 9. Heat flux across the inner surface for the thermal bridge of the test case 3.2.
 F. Aguilar et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 67 (2014) 370e377
Fig. 10. Solution of the heat flux for different models of the thermal bridge.
transmittancy J(W/m K). However, the high influence of the mass
of some thermal bridges on their thermal inertia has an important
impact on the dynamic response of the energy demand in build-
ings. In order to better understand the effect of the thermal inertia,
four different dynamic responses of the wall heat flux in the ther-
mal bridge of Section 3.1 (vertical wall and ground floor slab) are
compared in Fig. 10, namely:
a) The model of the thermal bridge taking into account only the
heat transfer across the enclosures, without considering the
effect of the 2D temperature distribution.
b) The model of the thermal bridge as a linear heat transfer
resistance without mass or thermal inertia, derived from a
steady-state heat conduction analysis.
c) The solution of the analytical expressions for multilayered
walls [10] applied to the three-layered equivalent thermal
wall of the objective thermal bridge.
d) The finite-volume solution of the unsteady heat conduction
problem in the objective thermal bridge, obtained with the
software ANSYS.
The boundary conditions applied in the four cases are: indoor
temperature Tint ¼ 20  C; fluctuating outside temperature
b ¼ FsinðutÞ over a 24 h period. The surface thermal resistances
T 0
considered are: Rso ¼ 0.04 m2 K/W y Rsi ¼ 0.13 m2 K/W for the
vertical wall; and Rse ¼ 0.04 m2 K/W and Rsi ¼ 0.1 m2 K/W for the
slab. The analysis of the results clearly show that, if the thermal
bridge is not properly considered -case a)-, the computation of the
wall heat flux is underestimated in approximately 25% with regard
to the actual performance of the thermal envelope. Conversely, if
the thermal bridge is taken into account but only in steady-state
and without thermal inertia -case b)-, the energy demand evolu-
tion retrieved by the model is substantially time-delayed with
respect to real conditions. Only the simulation of the thermally-
equivalent wall model (c) reproduces a dynamic response similar
to that of the full analysis of the thermal bridge (d).
In order to implement this method (c) in building energy simu-
lation programs, the software has to divide every wall in three parts.
The part located in the center would be the thermally equivalent wall
of the original wall (calculated by the classical equivalent wall
method). The upper and lower parts of the wall would take into
377
account the thermal bridge and therefore would be calculated by the
equivalent wall method proposed in this article. A similar strategy
would be applied for the modelling of floors and ceilings.
5. Conclusions
1. The equivalent thermal wall method is applicable to the
modeling of high-inertial thermal bridges, provided that the
thermal properties of the equivalent walls are properly
determined.
2. An iterative algorithm has been devised to adjust the thermal
properties of the equivalent thermal walls. This method is
complemented with a thorough strategy to decompose the
thermal bridge into several multi-layered walls.
3. The thermal bridge topologies formed by the junction of a ver-
tical wall and an intermediate or a ground floor slab are
analyzed with this approach. Two new equivalent thermal walls
are created in each case, whose 1D-transient analysis is com-
plemented with the study of the walls unaffected by the 2D heat
flow induced by the thermal bridge junction.
4. The modeling of the thermal bridges following the method
proposed in this work retrieves a reliable transient response of
the problem. The good agreement of the results with the full
simulation of the heat conduction problem across the thermal
bridge actual geometry serves as a validation of the method.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the CDTI
(Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial) and the company
CYPE Ingenieros.
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